UKNY for December 20

Back in the late spring of 2013, I got up the nerve to schedule an appointment with Rita Houston, my boss, to pitch the idea for a show that focused on emerging British and international artists, which spun out of a giddy love of UK music since I was a kid. London is my spiritual home, and I dreamed of having an hour to support musicians and bands that weren't getting much (if any) U.S. airplay.

Much to my joy, gratitude, and disbelief, Rita said yes. And that pitch became "UKNY" which launched the first weekend of July 2013 as a limited summer series, but then, magically and generously, Rita said, "Run with it." I am beyond thankful to Rita for taking a chance on a nascent idea that became a quirky little British show that celebrates its eighth anniversary next summer.

Over the years, I loved poking my head in Rita's office to enthuse over new artists I'd discovered, always hoping that what I loved, she might love too. I vividly recall playing her Michael Kiwanuka's "Tell Me a Tale" back in 2011, besotted with the Londoner's vibe, or wandering into her studio one Friday afternoon, where she was pre-recording an episode of "The Whole Wide World," to natter away about an Aussie songwriter named Courtney Barnett, who I thought she might like too. In turn, Rita introduced me to artists like Yola, Jade Bird, and Ásgeir. Most generously, Rita asked me to cover Iceland Airwaves in 2017 and 2018 — truly two of the most meaningful and euphoric (despite that broken shoulder in snowy Akureyri) experiences in my life. Thank you, dear Rita, for that dazzling gift.

But our conversations about music, which I treasured, weren't always about emerging musicians, but also about our shared songwriter crushes on legends too, like Burt Bacharach and his collaborations with lyricists like Hal David or Elvis Costello. Rita reached one of the holy grails of interviews, in my estimation, and talked to Bacharach in 2005, for an FUV Live session that you can find here.

So in memory of Rita, who we so painfully lost on Tuesday, a set of beloved Bacharach songs on tonight's "UKNY" at 11, along with some Christmas and winter selections that remind me of her, from Chilly Gonzales, Elbow, Francis Lung, Arlo Parks, Herbie Hancock with Corinne Bailey Rae, Iceland's Hamrahlíð Choir's collaboration with Björk, and others.

Love you, Rita, and thank you for those spirited conversations, the chance you took on a shy person's idea, and the music you shared with all of us.

"UKNY" airs 11p.m.-midnight on 90.7, streaming online, and available in the Weekend Archives after broadcast.

Songs played:
Opening set for Rita Houston (all Burt Bacharach)
1. (Detroit, US) Aretha Franklin, “I Say A Little Prayer,” Aretha Now
2. Sandie Shaw, “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me,” The Very Best of Sandie Shaw
3. The Wild Bunch, “The Look of Love,” single
4. Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, “Toledo,” Painted from Memory
5. Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach, “A House is Not a Home,” single
6. (Chicago, US/Leeds, UK) Herbie Hancock and Corinne Bailey Rae, “River,” River: The Joni Letters
7. Porridge Radio, “The Last Time I Saw You (O Christmas),” single
8. Rachael Dadd with Rozi Plain and Kate Stables, “We Build Our Houses Well,” Lost Christmas
9. Arlo Parks, “Last Christmas,” single
10. Francis Lung, “To Make Angels in the Snow,” Lost Christmas
11. Elbow, “And It Snowed,” Lost Worker Bee EP
12. (Montréal, CA and Cologne, DE) Chilly Gonzales feat. Feist, “The Banister Bough,” a very chilly christmas
13. ( Reykjavík, IS) The Hamrahlíð Choir, “Sonnets,” Come and Be Joyful
14. (San Francisco, US) Vince Guaraldi, “Greensleeves,” A Charlie Brown Christmas